SingleServeCoffeeReviews.com

If you're the kind of coffee lover that gets into flavored coffee, you really should try out Gloria Jean's Irish Creme k-cups. Besides, what better way to celebrate St. Patrick's day than with a nice warm cup of Irish Creme!

I myself love the smooth creamy taste of Irish Creme ... and to be honest, I'm not a big "flavored coffee" kind of person. But there is something that can't be beat about that perfect cup.

I for one will be celebrating today with a cup of Gloria Jean's Irish Creme. I hope you will to! Drink a cup for me while you're at it.

If you drink...no if you thrive on a cup of freshly brewed espresso then Green Mountain has a K-Cup finally for you!  Green Mountain's New Double Black Diamond K-Cup Coffee is smoky, seriously dark and tremendously bold.  I enjoy French Press coffee and Green Mountain's Double Black Diamond comes close to delivering a similar taste profile.  You know - the feeling of the finely grounded beans still vaguely present, the sense that by drinking a full cup all of the moisture in your mouth is being drained - yet no bitterness.

Green mountain describes this coffee as, "heavy-bodied, with a dark and toasty flavor." And for added flair they state, "On a darkness scale of 1-10, this one goes to eleven."  Admittedly, Green Mountain's description of Double Black Diamond is dead-on.  It was absolutely heavy-bodied although a dose of half-and half toned it down quickly.  The Double Black is dark - both in taste and actual color even with the dose of half and half its colored remained dark brown. But the taste - toasty, smoky, dark and very delicious.

I actually find the Double Black Diamond not too far beyond the taste profile of Green Mountain's Espresso Blend which is another one of my favorites from their Extra Bold collection (K-Cups that contain up to 20% more coffee.)   Double Black Diamond is the type of coffee that I can't drink too much of because it makes me feel like I need to down 16 cups of water afterwards to get re-hydrated!  But that's a good sign of a truly extra bold coffee! 

As I sip a cup of Double Black Diamond, I am really serious about its dehydration factor.  Although I have had a few cups of Coffee People's Doughnut Shop and a Caribou Coffee from a local store already today, the Green Mountain Double Black Diamond has put me over the edge.  I need some water!   Wow - that's impressive.  Congratulations Green Mountain - this stuff is potent!

As Green Mountain stated, Double Black Diamond K-Cup Coffee is "not for the faint of heart."  But if you seriously enjoy a dark, really extra bold, and close-to-espresso like coffee - then you need to jump on this one.  I can't imagine that you will be disappointed.  Get over to Green Mountain Coffee for some Double Black Diamond now.

Let me know what you think once you try it.  Did it get ya reaching for some water?

Why Gloria Jean's didn't call its seasonal Winter Wonderland K-Cup Coffee, "Decadent Dessert Wonderland" is beyond me.  This is an absolutely delicious flavored K-Cup coffee.  Gloria Jean's describes it as, "the pleasant taste of light spiced sugar cookies with caramel topping" which doesn't do the taste enough justice!  I know, I am normally writing about how dreamy some of the roaster descriptions are like calling a flavor "creamy."  But Winter Wonderland is so good it actually deserves a dreamier description.

I am sipping a cup of Winter Wonderland right now.  But first I have to say that my sinuses must be unseasonably clear because the aroma released while brewing Winter Wonderland was incredible.  It literally smelled like baking sugar cookies with caramel.  But as I have found out during taste-tests of other flavored K-Cups, the taste doesn't always support the aroma.  Not in the case of Gloria Jean's Winter Wonderland.  On the first sip, I tasted exactly what I expected to taste from the aroma - sugar cookies with a hint of caramel.  And the taste lingered after the sip - a sign to me of a darn good coffee.

One thing I have noticed (and I will be researching this) is that Gloria Jean's has consistently delivered a more flavorful flavored coffee.  The way they add the flavor must be unique because their flavored k-cup coffee (in my opinion) is closer to a dessert drink than a coffee drink.  Gloria Jean's Winter Wonderland is definitely no exception to this theory.  The taste of Winter Wonderland is as good as its smell and it absolutely exceeds its description!

Enjoy a perfect cup today. 

Green Mountain has three, new Holiday K-Cup Coffees out for the season.  All three are Fair Trade coffees which makes them even more special for the season of giving.

The first one is Green Mountain's Pumpkin Spice K-Cup Coffee.  I am actually sipping a cup of Pumpkin Spice as I write this review.  Its aroma perfectly captures the pumpkin spice just like a baking pumpkin pie.  Its taste though isn't quite as delicious as its pleasing smell.  Possibly the coffee roast (a light roast) is too overpowering for the pumpkin spice.  Maybe, I am just too critical because of the fantastic Pumpkin Spice lattes I have been getting lately from Starbucks!  Green Mountain describes this flavored k-cup coffee as, "enhanced by creamy, pumpkin spice flavors."  Well, I don't get the creamy (like I do when drinking a Gloria Jean's Pumpkin Spice) but the pumpkin spice is evident - just not as clearly present as it is in the aroma. Buy Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice K-Cups

The next Holiday K-Cup offering is Green Mountain's Eggnog K-Cup Coffee.  I was surprised by this one since I don't particularly enjoy eggnog.  The K-Cup was splendidly delicious.  It's one of those K-Cups though that I would rather drink now and then versus every morning.  Green Mountain describes the Eggnog K-Cup Coffee as, "rich, smooth and creamy, with just the right touch of cinnamon and nutmeg."  Again, the creamy is a stretch for my taste buds but they were right on with the cinnamon and nutmeg.  It's a perfect treat.

 
The final Holiday K-Cup Coffee from Green Mountain is the Holiday Blend.  I haven't tried it yet however if it is anything like Green Mountain's Autumn Harvest Blend then it will be a seasonal hit!  According to Green Mountain, the Holiday Blend K-Cup Coffee has, "rich aromatic blend of light and dark roasted coffees (the highlands of Central and South America) with an intricate, yet balanced taste and lingering finish."  The Autumn Harvest Blend had a medium roast from Latin American coffees with a touch of hearty, dark French Roast so I am interested to try the new Holiday Blend.

The challenge with these seasonal coffees is if you fall in love with one they end up being discontinued.  I had enough "heart breaks" in high school!

Until next time - enjoy that perfect cup over the Holiday.

Wow - did Coffee People launch some fabulously delicious sounding coffees or what? If you haven't seen yet, here they are:

• Cowboy Coffee
• Vanilla Avalanche Coffee (the name just makes you wan tot drink it!)
  
• Kafe Lua Coffee
• Berry Blast Coffee
• Chai Coffee
  

These may be the most creative coffee names I have seen - at least on K-Cups.

Just in case if the name doesn't clearly describe the taste you'll receive from sipping a cup, here are some short descriptions pulled from Coffee People's website (www.coffeepeople.com.)

Cowboy Coffee: Full-bodied sweet and syrupy campfire classic.

Vanilla Avalanche Coffee: Madagascar vanilla infused with intense coffee.

Kafe Lua Coffee: Bold coffee meets Kahlua® flavored liqueur.

Berry Blast Coffee: Sweet, tart berries in bold dark java.

Chai Coffee: Chai spices kick up this strong coffee brew.

Congrats to the Coffee People team!  Great names for great coffee!!!

Grab your perfect cup.